Three actresses dish about the life-changing effect of 'Miss Saigon' in new musical revue

'Saigon' stories

' ROAD TO SAIGON '
Three actresses, each of whom has played Kim in the musical "Miss Saigon," share how the show has affected their lives in this revue, which is being presented by East West Players in the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles. The show, in previews through Sunday, opens Wednesday and will run until June 13. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $25 for previews, $40-$50 for regular shows. For more information, call 213-625-7000 or visit http://www.eastwestplayers.org .
----------------------
Courtesy of Alyssa Brennan
Philippine-born Jennifer Paz, who spent three years on the road playing Kim in the first U.S. tour of "Miss Saigon," reprised her role in 2008 with the South Bay Civic Light Opera Company in Redondo Beach. Paz, who co-starred with Eric Kunze, won an Ovation Award for her performance.

Though their career paths differ greatly, Jennifer Paz, Joan Almedilla and Jenni Selma are forever bonded by one key role: The three women have all made their mark as Kim, the tragic heroine of the musical “Miss Saigon.”

Playing Kim didn’t make them as famous as Lea Salonga, who originated the role on the West End and on Broadway, but the actresses all agree that starring in “Miss Saigon” was a life-changing experience for them, too.

Their individual journeys intrigued Tim Dang, the artistic director of the East West Players theater company in Los Angeles. He teamed them with director Jon Lawrence Rivera and choreographer Kim Cole (from the original cast of “A Chorus Line) to create “Road to Saigon.”

The world-premiere show, which combines autobiographical material with songs that influenced each woman, is in previews through Sunday in the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts in Los Angeles. Opening night will be Wednesday.

“When Tim told me about the idea a little more than a year ago I was excited,” said Paz, who appeared as Kim in the first U.S. tour of “Miss Saigon.” “Then I thought, ‘Oh crap, I have to write this.’ And fear struck me.”

After she calmed down, Paz met with Almedilla, Selma and Rivera to discuss the show’s concept. They decided to start at the end, coming offstage from a “Miss Saigon” performance.

“Then we track the stories backward, through being cast, the audition process, and all the way back to our childhood memories,” Paz said. “We also have a segment about when we first heard of Lea Salonga and how she impacted our lives. For the other girls, they grew up in the Philippines, so they knew about her long before I did. I didn’t know who she was until 1991, when she won the Tony.”

And only a year later, Paz was auditioning for the role of Kim. Paz said she was in awe of Salonga when they first met, but now they are good friends.

Throughout the new show, the women perform songs that help tell their stories.

“I didn’t grow up listening to musicals, so I mostly picked pop songs,” Paz explained. “But putting these songs in a new context is revealing.”

One example is “Anytime,” by William Finn, which Paz said she connected with her mother.

“She didn’t want me to go into the business. She wanted me to stay in school and become a lawyer,” Paz said. “It took me a long time to forgive her. But no matter what, my mother was always there for me. She was in every city of that first tour. I had sung the song before, but now, singing it in this context, it’s hard for me to even get through it.”

To add to the show’s physicality, Rivera enlisted Cole to create musical staging. Cole said “Road to Saigon” reminded her somewhat of her experience being part of “A Chorus Line,” because that seminal show was built from the dancers’ true stories.